European companies have been captivated by the romanticism of the early 20th century when living the 'American dream' was synonymous with freedom and equal opportunities in the US. And they still believe in it, at least in terms of the stock market. In recent weeks, some Spanish voices have once again emphasized their desire - perhaps this time more convinced - to list on Wall Street, a market that offers them, as they argue, many more opportunities for two reasons: the New York Stock Exchange is the epicenter of a tornado that absorbs everything and where increasingly more investment flows are concentrated, and therefore, the second reason, companies listed there are of larger size and at much higher valuations because the market, in a way, rewards them.
The Spanish example leads us to talk about two companies that were born in Spain and therefore chose to list here, but whose life trajectory has turned them into Americans. They are Acerinox and Fluidra, which could follow in the footsteps of Ferrovial very soon. The former has been claiming for years that their efforts to stay in Spain should be valued, where they believe they are undervalued in the stock market and where they face electricity costs much higher than in other parts of the world at their original factory in Campo de Gibraltar, which has experienced production stoppages and staff cuts in recent years. This is the opposite of what they experience at NAS (North American Stainless) in the very American state of Kentucky, where they have announced million-dollar investments to expand their plant and open new production lines. There, in November, they completed the acquisition of the also American Haynes International for almost 800 million euros, to strengthen their special alloys business, a segment they cover in Europe with the German VDM Metals.
The news resurfaced last week when the CEO of the group, Bernardo Velázquez, hinted at the possibility of listing on Wall Street in an interview with the Bloomberg agency. It's not a new idea, the company argues, and it is true that every time he has the opportunity, Velázquez points out the valuation differences at which their American comparables trade compared to the Spanish company. In any case, the steelmaker acknowledges to EL MUNDO that these are plans that, if materialized, would be at least "after the integration of Haynes," which would delay them for another two years. It should be noted that for Acerinox, six out of every ten euros of revenue come from the US, which is why the differences with the US are not only due to the business segment. But it is a reasonable claim when looking at the numbers.
On average, comparable companies like Steel Dynamics and Nucor Corporation trade at twice the book value, which is one of the ratios used to value companies. Acerinox trades at almost half that (at 1.1 times), so if the same valuations as in the US were applied, its market capitalization would increase by 70%, exceeding 5.5 billion euros. And this is despite the fact that the Spanish company is currently performing well in the stock market, considering that the market is rewarding it for its strong exposure to the US during times of trade war. Others like ArcelorMittal, its stainless steel subsidiary Aperam, Voestalpine, or the Finnish Outokumpu are not as fortunate, trading at multiples of 0.5-0.6 times, so jumping to the US could potentially increase their market value by over 200% solely based on multiples.
It is true that the timing may not be ideal now that investors seem to be rebalancing their portfolios by increasing their exposure to Europe after years of focusing on the US. It is said, and there are figures to support it, that it is the average American who is sustaining Wall Street amid the exodus of major funds and investment banks. But beyond the present moment, history shows that simply investing in an ETF indexed to the S&P 500 as a guarantee of success makes sense. Looking at the past twenty years, the main Wall Street index has appreciated by 411% since July 2005; compared to the 93% of the Stoxx 600, the European equivalent, and the 40% of the Ibex, thanks to a particularly good year for the Spanish market in 2025, with gains of over 20%. In other words, half of the appreciation over two decades has occurred since January.
On July 1, it was leaked that the largest British listed company, the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca, was considering listing on the New York Stock Exchange, probably through a dual listing, which involves continuing to trade on both markets. At that time, there was talk of the "frustration" of its CEO, Pascal Soriot, with British regulations and the fact that the pharmaceutical industry's talent and achievements are being overshadowed by the US and China. But Astrazeneca is not the only one considering packing up and leaving the London City. According to Bloomberg estimates, listed companies worth over $100 billion are also contemplating making the leap across the Atlantic to settle in New York; all this happening amidst the worst start to the year in the last 28 years for IPOs on the London Footsie.
Is the situation unique to the UK? Not really, even though Brexit adds an extra layer in their case. European authorities have been particularly concerned for the past couple of years about the diminishing influence of the European market globally. We are becoming increasingly irrelevant, and to address this, they are considering measures aimed at lowering requirements, demanding less free capital traded in the market, or introducing new tax incentives to try to reverse the exodus of companies, especially towards private capital. Is this a solution? Not yet, mainly because it is very challenging to get all member states to agree. Moreover, it is not clear why they want to encourage IPOs while excluding citizens - who typically do not participate in IPOs - and with companies having minimal liquidity.
As stated in the BME's 'White Paper,' over the past decade, from 2013 to 2022, the US stock market's share of global market capitalization has increased from 37.8% to 40%, and this is without considering the recent technology boom over the past two and a half years. Its weight in portfolios goes beyond this, with a 70% share of the MSCI World. Among Europeans, France has the largest market share at 3% of global capitalization, the UK stands at 2.9%, but after losing half of its international weight due to Brexit, and Spain is only at 0.6%, three times lower than ten years ago.
In May 2025, Ferrovial began trading on the US Nasdaq after going through the Dutch market, which it used as a 'bridge' to list on Wall Street. BME stated at the time that no one had requested this route, but it would have been possible without the need to leave Spain. A year and two months later, it cannot be said that the negotiation of the Del Pino family's firm has increased significantly by listing in New York, but it has indeed improved in recent months. While in May 2025, when it made the leap, only 2% of all the volume traded in its Spanish shares was in the US, today it stands at 14%.
Fluidra, a Catalan company and a global leader in pools, has also considered that the multiples of its US comparables are very different, and therefore, it does not rule out making the leap to Wall Street. These multiples could potentially double if compared to its main competitors in the US: Pool Corporation, trading at ratios of 9 times, and Pentair, the market leader with a 13% share, or Xylem, trading around 4 times. This implies that Fluidra's market capitalization could potentially double and reach 9 billion euros if its valuation multiples were aligned with those of American companies.
The pool giant is also predominantly American following its acquisition of its rival Zodiac in 2018. Looking at its global presence, Fluidra holds an 18% market share in Southern Europe, Australia, and New Zealand (markets the company consolidates in its presentations) and a 12% share in Central Europe and the Nordic countries along with emerging markets. This represents a combined market size of around 8 billion euros, split almost evenly between these two groups of countries, where Fluidra is the number one player. However, the largest market, worth nearly 9 billion euros, is North America (US and Canada), where Fluidra holds a 10% market share following the Zodiac acquisition. The average cost of building a pool there is 100,000 euros, three times higher than in Europe and up to 20 times more than in emerging countries.
One of Fluidra's objectives is to grow through consolidations, which is the euphemism used in the market to talk about going shopping. "It is a very fragmented sector, with about 1,000 players who share 63% of the business," another 4 that have 12%, and the three largest, where Fluidra stands out, account for 25% of the market share. To achieve this, it is important to gain financial strength and also size, and a faster - and perhaps safer - way to do it is through the U.S. capital market.